


I'll Make This Feel Like Home

by excusemeliam91



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bottom Harry, Eventual Smut, Evil management, Growing love, Long, M/M, Mutual Pining, Realistic, Slow Burn, Solo Career, Soul Mate AU, Top Louis Tomlinson, explicit content, larry stylinson - Freeform, like very slow burn, one direction career, x factor era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25207348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/excusemeliam91/pseuds/excusemeliam91
Summary: On your 18th birthday, the first word that your soulmate says to you appears on your arm. Louis gets a generic word, and Harry may or may not be his soulmate, but he's not sure. Either way, he wants to love Harry.Other than this, it is not in an AU. The boys go on X factor and one direction is formed as normal. The timeline is from X Factor to present day.Not everything in here is accurate, and many things are not how they happened in real life. For example, I may not get all the X factor information correct and the dates may be off. This is a FICTIONAL story though so that's okay!
Relationships: Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. The Auditions/Before Bootcamp

**Author's Note:**

> PSA: nothing I write is fact and I am in no way claiming to know any truth about L and H’s relationship. That is completely their business!!! Respect to them both, and all the other characters mentioned. Also, anything i write does not reflect the true personalities or views or anything about the real life people. This is entirely fiction. Alright!!! Here we go :)
> 
> ******* I AM AWARE that Harry has the ‘hi’ tattoo and Louis has ‘oops’, but I will be switching it for this story. I’M SORRY <3333.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** means change in character pov.

Louis sat in the X Factor waiting area, watching hundreds of talented people prepare their voices for their official audition in front of the judges. Louis, however, couldn’t muster up the courage to practice in front of all these people. He’d much rather continue to anxiously bounce his leg in his hard, plastic chair, seated next to his mother. As hard as he tried not to, he could barely take his eyes off of one of the boys rehearsing in the crowded room.

The boy looked a little younger than Louis, but was a few inches taller with magnificently curly brown hair. He had a bit of a baby face, but was still somehow intimidating to look at. Louis had trouble looking away from the boy, but whenever they made eye contact, Louis could feel his heart rate racing. He was looking down at his knees and looked up once more at the boy, only to find him staring right at Louis with a grin on his face. This made Louis’ already raging anxiety shoot through the roof and he began to feel sick. He rushed out of his chair and found the nearest bathroom, locking himself in the stall. He let himself lean against the door and put his hands up to his hair, trying to calm himself down. He already felt terrible due to his nerves about auditioning, but this mystery boy made it even worse. Why would he smile at Louis? Couldn’t he tell Louis wasn’t feeling well and that he should have just left Louis alone? Ugh. People can be so inconsiderate.

Louis leaves the bathroom stall and splashes water on his face. He stands there for a second, allowing the water to drip off his face and into the sink. Without drying off his face or opening his eyes, he stands and takes a step towards the door, but instead walks into someone who had just walked into the rest-room. 

“Oops, shit.” Louis said under his breath. “Sorry about that,” he apologized while trying to clear the water from his eyes.

“Hi.” The person responds.

Louis’ head snaps up, recognizing that voice from the practice room. He rubs the final droplets from his eyes and is greeted by the curly headed boy he was previously mesmerized by. Now, with the boy standing this close to him, he can see him more clearly. He notices his eyes, the greenest eyes Louis has ever seen. The boy’s smile grows, and his dimples become distractingly prominent on his clear skin. Louis is silent, simply admiring the beauty in front of him.

“I’m Harry. Harry Styles,” the boy tells him, never taking his gaze away from Louis’ eyes. They are standing pretty close to each other, due to their collision earlier, and Louis has to crane his neck to look up at the boy, Harry.

“Louis Tomlinson. Pleasure to meet you, but I must be getting back,” Louis says shortly, and shoves past Harry into the hallway. He hears Harry shout a “wait!” in his direction, but Louis doesn’t look back. He needs to think about what just happened.

He returns to his seat next to his mother. She is too engrossed in her book to even notice he had left. What had Harry said to him? ‘Hi.’ Harry said Hi. Harry said the word that appeared on his skin a year ago on his 18th birthday. Of course, Louis has had hundreds of people say hi to him as their first word. Louis was burdened with one of the most common soulmate markings, and he had no way of knowing which ‘Hi’ was the right one, unless that person had a marking of something Louis said. With all the ‘hi’s’ he’s gotten in his life so far, this is the far time Louis wished for some reciprocation of the soul mate marking. Obviously, he just met Harry and isn’t dreaming about starting a family with him, but Loui can’t ignore the fact that Harry is an extremely attractive lad. He could eat cereal out of his dimples, or easily drown in his emerald eyes. Louis wanted to run his hands through his curly hair, or imagine what it felt like to stand on his tippy toes to reach Harry’s lips.

‘Sorry about that’ was the first thing that Louis said to Harry. Or was it oops? No, he said ‘oops’ way too quietly for Harry to hear. It had to be ‘sorry about that’. He couldn’t forget that, and needed to remember to check later to see if Harry had that written anywhere on his body. The chances were small, but Louis wouldn’t let them slip by. He needed to know if this mystery boy was the one for him.

He heard Harry’s voice playing through the speakers and looked up to the tv screen that showed Harry standing on the stage with a microphone in front of the judges. Harry looked so small up there, compared to how he looked towering over Louis in the bathroom with a smirk on his face. There, on stage, he seemed small and nervous. Until he started singing.

The opening lines to “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder rang out through the speakers, Harry’s voice delivering them perfectly. As he sang, he began to grow more confident and he slowly looked more like the boy Louis had met in the bathroom. Louis felt his jaw drop in shock as he listened to Harry’s voice that carried through the venue beautifully. Louis felt grateful to even be able to hear this performance. 

He realized there was no way that Harry was his soulmate. There was no reason for him to ask Harry if he had ‘sorry about that’ anywhere on his body’. There is absolutely NO chance that a boy as talented and handsome as Harry could be Louis’ soul mate. After hearing Harry sing, Louis worries that he has no chance of making it through to bootcamp, and he will probably never see Harry again. Wonderful.

Harry makes it through, obviously, and shortly after Louis is called up to stage. He answered a few questions from the judges, and then began his audition, singing “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White Tees. As he sings, he can’t stop his thoughts from wandering to Harry’s audition, his perfectly strong voice, rarely wavering and reaching all corners of the stage. Louis is distracted as he sings, and knows that he sounds nowhere near as good as Harry did. His voice is shaky and he feels a little flat, and it takes all of his strength to not just stop singing and walk off the stage. After what feels like hours, he finally closes the song and looks at the judges, almost positive they will all say no.

But they don’t say no. Each judge says yes, and Louis will be moving on to bootcamp. Louis thanks the judges as he feels tears forming in his eyes and runs off stage to hug his mother. He sees Harry across the room, waving and smiling at him. Louis pretends not to notice, just because he made it to bootcamp doesn’t mean he’s suddenly good enough for Harry. Harry doesn’t get the hint though, and walks right over to Louis, interrupting his hug with his mom.

“Hey Louis, you did amazing up there!” Harry says, with an unnaturally huge smile on his face. Jay, Louis’ mother, mumbles something about giving them space and walks away to talk to another parent.

“Thank you Harold, but I was pretty nervous up there. I’m honestly shocked that they didn’t pick me up and throw me out of the building after hearing my first note,” Louis chuckled. Harry did not seem to appreciate his joke, and his smile slowly fell into a look of concern.

“Don’t say that Louis. You did amazing, they wouldn’t have all said yes if you didn’t,” Harry brought his hand up to Louis’ shoulder as he said this, staring deeply into his eyes to make sure Louis knew he was being sincere. When his hand reached Louis’ shoulder, a shiver went through his body. He looked at where Harry’s hand was touching him, and wanted nothing more than for Harry to touch him more. To touch him everywhere.

But he didn’t say that. Obviously. Instead he took a step back to remove Harry’s hand from him. He didn’t want to be teased by Harry’s touch when he knew he would never get anything more from this boy. This boy was going to become the biggest pop star in the world, and Louis would most likely be kicked off the X Factor on the second day of boot camp.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But you did amazing, mate. Seriously, my jaw was on the floor when I heard you sing. Don’t forget about me when you make it big, Harold,” Louis said. He might not let Harry touch him, but there was no harm in complementing him. It was the truth, after all, and Louis figured many other people have said this to Harry and Louis saying it won’t mean anything special to Harry.

However, Harry’s face lit up when he said this, and his enormous smile returned to his face. He brushed a stray curl away from his eye and said “I wouldn’t worry about that Louis. You’ll be right up there with me.” Louis did nothing but smile up at him. Harry took out a pen and paper and held it against his thigh for stability, scribbling something onto it. He gave it to Louis with a wink and said “Shoot me a text sometime, I don’t want you to forget about me either.”

Harry turned around and walked towards two women, probably his mother and sister. Jay reappeared and Louis told her he was ready to go home. They walked towards the car and Louis replayed the day’s events in his head.

The next day, Louis woke up unnaturally early. He was planning on sleeping in, at least until 11, but his eyes shot open bright and early at 7 am. Great. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his phone from the bedside table, but was met with the piece of paper he had left there instead. The paper with a phone number and a note that said “Harry <3”. Why would Harry have added a heart? Did that mean he was interested in Louis? No, there’s no way. It was probably just Harry’s signature, something he writes every time he signs his name. Must be.

Louis didn’t text Harry when he got home last night, all he did was climb in bed and fall asleep. Now, with his mind clear and his body rested, he decides texting Harry is a bad idea. He doesn’t know why it’s a bad idea, but he knows he shouldn’t, or at least he doesn’t want to. He does, however, put Harry’s number into his phone under the name “Curly”. He puts the piece of paper into the drawer of his bedside table and shoves his phone into his pajama pocket.

He runs downstairs, his mum and sisters still asleep, and makes himself breakfast. Well “makes breakfast” is a bit of an exaggeration, considering how Louis can't cook to save his life and all he did was cut up an apple with some peanut butter. He brings his plate back up to his room and sits in bed, opens his computer and goes to his documents. He opens the one entitled “possible soul mates” and adds one more to the list, Harry Styles. He puts a star next to the name, because his two interactions with Harry felt much different than any conversation he has had with anyone else who said his soulmate word.

That’s the problem with having a word as common as ‘Hi’. Ninety percent of conversations begin with the word, and Louis could never be sure if someone is his soul mate. If he had something unique, like ‘potato’ on his skin, that’d be pretty easy to pick out his soul mate. To make matters worse, Louis was bisexual, so he couldn’t even narrow it down to one gender. It could be anyone. Once, a girl said hi to him and he responded with ‘hello’, which happened to be her soulmate word. They were young, freshly eighteen, and assumed that meant they were soulmates. After a few weeks of hanging out and going on dates, the girl told Louis that she thinks she is a lesbian. Pretty hard to be soulmates with someone who isn’t even attracted to your gender. Ever since that, Louis makes an effort to have his first words to someone be unique, so that he will know for sure when he meets his soulmate. 

But Harry was only sixteen. It would take another two years until Harry knows his soulmate word. By then, Harry would probably be on his second world tour and Louis would be studying at university after being kicked off the x-factor. Louis couldn’t ignore the way Harry made him feel, though. When Harry had put his hand on Louis’ shoulder, his skin turned into electricity underneath him. He had never had a reaction like that to someone touching him. Of course, Louis was nineteen years old, he has had sex with many people, boys and girls, and he enjoyed the touch of every single one of them. Harry’s touch was different. It felt like his hand was the missing puzzle piece needed to complete Louis. Ever since that moment, Louis has been craving Harry’s hand on his skin. He hasn’t even been thinking about it in a sexual way, he just wanted contact from Harry. He couldn’t ignore that. He decided that even though he is only a small blip in Harry’s superstar life, he was going to do whatever he could to have Harry near him. Even if it led to a massive heartbreak when Harry forgets about him or when Harry gets a word that matches someone else. He would do whatever it takes to keep Harry. He took out his phone and clicked on the newly added contact.

*****

Harry had already been awake for two hours when he finally felt his phone buzz. He stayed up late the night before, somewhat expecting Louis to text him when he returned home from auditions, but nothing came through. He set his alarm for 6 am the next day, and woke up naturally a few minutes before it went off. Still no text. He took a shower, went for a run, made himself waffles and eggs, and still no text. Harry felt like an idiot for giving Louis his number in the first place. He should have asked Louis instead. Then, Harry could have been in control of the conversation instead of sitting here like an idiot, staring up at his ceiling waiting for his phone to ring. He could tell Louis was shy, and should have known that he wouldn’t have texted Harry first. Or maybe, Louis just wasn’t interested at all. Maybe what Harry thought was flirty staring was just a boy being zoned out looking in Harry’s general direction. Either way, Harry wasn’t one to give up easily. When he looked down into Louis’ deep blue eyes in the bathroom, Harry knew he wanted him. And unless Louis flat out told Harry that he was straight or not attracted to Harry, he was going to do the best he could to get Louis.

His phone buzzed, and Harry’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at his ceiling for a second longer before grabbing his phone.

New Message: Unknown Number  
hey curly, its louis from the x factor bathroom. have you forgotten me yet? :) XX

Harry grinned so wide that it hurt his cheeks a little bit. He re-read the message a few times before deciding how to respond.

Harry:  
You’re silly, Lou. I could never forget you. How are you feeling after your audition? H.  
Lou:  
i’m still shaking to be honest. i’m still shocked I made it through.  
Harry:  
Of course you made it through, and I’m very glad you did. It would be much more boring without you there. :)  
Lou:  
i find that hard to believe my dear harold. you’re going to have girls throwing themselves at you every second you’re there, with a voice like that! of course you can’t forget your curls either... ;)  
Harry:  
Maybe I don’t want the girls… 

That was much too straightforward. Why did he say that. Now, if Louis only wanted to be his friend, he would have just scared him off. For a few seconds, the silence is deafening. Then his phone buzzes again.

Lou:  
ooh la la harold. im intrigued ;))) XX

Okay. Maybe it wasn’t too straightforward. Harry let out a sigh of relief and continued to text Louis, with some light flirtation. Only a week until they would see each other again, and Harry was determined to go into that first day of bootcamp as an important person in Louis’ life.

*****

Curly:  
Maybe I don’t want the girls… 

Louis felt his cheeks grow red. Harry basically just told Louis that he’s interested in boys. Right? That had to be what he meant. Of course, it didn’t necessarily mean that Harry was interested in LOUIS to be specific, but he has a chance. Now he knows Harry isn’t straight. He wanted to respond with “neither do I. I’ll be throwing myself at you, not any girls,” but of course he’s not ready for that. Instead he shoots back something slightly flirtatious, so that Harry knows that Louis is on the same page. Whatever page Harry is on.

For the next few days, Harry and Louis continue to text pretty consistently. They’re both glued to their phones for hours at a time, talking about each other’s favorite colors, movies, etc. They flirt with each other, but in very subtle ways so that the other is not sure if it can even be considered flirting. Either way, Louis knows they are becoming good friends, and can’t wait to see him when he returns to bootcamp on July 21. He hopes that he gets a few days before getting kicked off, just so that he can enjoy as much time with Harry as he can before he is inevitably forgotten.


	2. Bootcamp: Day 1

*****  
Harry walked into bootcamp on day one and was greeted with the sight of Louis from across the room. Louis had not noticed him yet, and he took this time to admire him. Louis was small, but that only made him more attractive. He was compact, with his tight arm muscles and abs visible under his v neck t-shirt. He acted a little shy, but also very jumpy and Harry could tell he was holding back his true personality. While texting Louis, Harry learned that he was extremely funny, and had Harry laughing to the point of tears, without even seeing him in person. Looking at him now, after not seeing him for weeks, Harry remembered why he was so drawn to Louis. Harry had never thought about a boy like this before, and until his X Factor audition, he assumed he was straight. Whenever he pictured his soulmate, he saw it as a girl, but over the past week, he pictured Louis. He thinks Louis is one of the coolest people he has ever met, but standing here, staring at him from across the room, Harry wants him. Harry wants to feel him on his lips and taste his skin and inhale Louis for everything he is. He wants Louis more than he has ever wanted a girl before. Harry knows that Louis is 19, so he already has his soul mate word, but he’s not ready to ask what it is. He wants to wait until he at least is certain that Louis reciprocates his feelings.

Harry walked over to Louis, unable to stay a distance away anymore, and hugged Louis from behind. The second he made contact with Louis, he couldn’t imagine letting go. Louis’ hands moved up and touched Harry’s arms that were tightly wrapped over his shoulders and on his chest. Harry rested his head next to Louis’ neck and could smell the product in his hair. He felt Louis’ chest move with each breath underneath his hand, and he felt Louis’ thumb rubbing fondly against Harry’s arm. He remembered what it felt like to touch Louis through clothes from when he grabbed his shoulder the first day they met. Where Harry’s chest touched Louis’ back, Harry felt a comforting warmth. He felt safe and ultimately content. Where Louis’ hand was holding on to Harry’s arm, however, Harry felt fire. It seemed as if electricity was shooting out of Louis and dancing between them, begging them to be even closer. Where Harry’s head brushed against Louis’ neck, the same electricity was present. Harry had no idea why it felt this way to touch Louis, but all he knew was that he wanted more. Unfortunately, they were in public and were doing a strange backwards hug for about 30 seconds. Harry loosened his grip on Louis and walked around to face him.

“Hi there Louis, sorry for that awkward back hug. I’ll be more professional next time.” Louis’ face was beet red, and his hand was lingering on his chest where Harry’s arms once were. He looked a little shaken up.

“Don’t worry about it, mate. I- uh, I thought it was cute,” Louis said, staring at his feet. Harry understood that it would take Louis sometime to come out of his shell, but he wished he could rush it along faster. He wanted to be with the real Louis.

“Alright groups!” Simon's voice interrupted the boys’ awkward conversation and Harry’s thoughts of wanting to touch Louis again. “We’re going to split you all up. Groups, go with Walsh, Over 25’s go with Dannii, girls you’re with Cheryl and boys you’re with me. Follow me boys!” Louis and Harry stood up and followed the rest of the teenage boys towards the room Simon Cowell was walking towards.

*****

What the fuck. What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK! Louis spent HOURS before coming in today preparing himself for seeing Harry. He said “Hey Harry” to his reflection in the mirror on repeat until he felt satisfied with his expressions. He practiced giving Harry a hug, or a handshake, whatever the situation called for. He could not have prepared himself for how he felt when Harry hugged him from behind. The pure FIRE between them was even more intense than that first day they touched. If this was going to happen every time, Louis needed to get better at preparing himself for it. The way he acted afterwards was completely unacceptable for future encounters, as Louis was completely flustered and barely able to hear Simon as he addressed the contestants. Thankfully, Harry was listening and Louis was able to follow him to their destination. They reached the smaller room and sat on the floor in the corner. 

For the first time, Louis took a look around at the other contestants in his age group. Most of them were at least averagely attractive, (none of them could compare to Harry, of course) and they all seemed to have created their own small friendships as he and Harry had. He noticed a few boys that were sitting alone, and Louis thought that was the smart decision. It would leave them less upset if they got sent home. Louis should be better preparing for this. He also couldn’t help but notice one boy, an irish lad with blonde hair and so much energy that it made Louis tired just to watch him. The blonde boy was loudly laughing at a joke told by another boy, and then ran to a different person to start another loud conversation. Louis was somewhat jealous of his confidence and positive mood, as Louis himself was planning how he would cope with getting kicked off the show. More specifically, how he would cope with losing Harry. That seemed to be his biggest worry now.

“Alright boys,” Simon’s voice pierced through Louis’ thoughts and he directed his attention away from the blonde, irish boy and looked at the judge. “Today you’re going to be singing ‘Man in the Mirror’ for me. By the end of the day, more than half of you will be going home.” Louis felt Harry’s eyes on his face but he couldn’t bring himself to look. If half of them are leaving, it would definitely be Louis, not Harry. 

“I’m going to split you into groups, and allow you to practice the song for one hour before we bring you on stage to weed out the weak voices.” Simon started to call out names in groups of five, and Harry was one of the first names called. Louis was not in his group. Harry smiled and squeezed Louis’ hand as he stood up to join his group, and as usual, Louis felt the spark coming from Harry’s skin. This time, however, it didn’t catch him as off guard as it usually does. He felt more prepared for it, and greatly enjoyed the feeling. Now, watching Harry walk away from him, all he wanted was to feel it again.

Louis’ name was called in his group of five, with Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Aiden Grimshaw, and another boy whose name Louis didn’t remember. He recognized Niall as the loud, irish boy from earlier, and Liam as one of the boys who was sitting alone. Smart. 

They began to sing, and Louis was surprised at how well his voice matched with Niall and Liam. Aiden and the other boy sounded good as well, but Louis, Niall and Liam perfectly harmonized with each other without discussing it. By the end of the song on the third go, the three boys were all talking about how good they sounded.

“There’s just no way any of us are going home today,” Niall said as he tapped his foot on his chair. “We all sound way too good!” Louis liked Niall, he decided. If he remained on the show, he was going to befriend him for sure. Of course, that’s just another person he will miss if, no when, he gets sent home.

Simon announced the groups would be switching again and called out the new names. This time, when Louis heard his name, it was followed by “Harry Styles”. He stood up and found Harry, and the other three boys joined them. 

“Look at us! Five minutes and we are already back together,” Harry said with a smirk.

“They can’t seem to keep you away from me, Curly. Might have to get a restraining order,” Louis teased back at him. Harry made a fake hurt expression but let out a giggle soon after.  
“Let’s sing, shall we?” one of the other boys asked. Louis thinks his name was Zayn Malik, but to be honest he wasn’t paying much attention to the other names of his group after he heard Harry’s called out. They began to sing their assigned Micheal Jackson song, and it sounded even better than Louis’ first group. Harry’s voice complimented him in a way that Niall and Liam’s didn’t. When Harry went high, Louis went low, and the combination of their voices sounded like smooth honey pouring from a tree. Louis could feel Harry’s voice tangling with his own, and it gave him confidence to sing even louder, and allow his voice to finally be heard. They finished their song, and Louis and Harry were left smiling at each other, both in shock about how well they went together.

They sang the song a few times more before Simon switched up their groups again. There were only so many boys, and more often than not, Louis was in a group with Harry. They sounded their best in a group with Niall, Zayn, and Liam as well. By the end of the day, the five of them were making plans to hangout after their x factor experience was over. Louis hoped that these boys, especially Harry, were being honest about this. There was a chance he would be sent home tonight, and he didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Not while Harry made him feel that magical, and while there’s still a chance Harry could be his soul mate.

He wasn’t sent home that night, and neither were any of the other five boys he befriended. They were to return bright and early the next morning, for day two of bootcamp. 

Louis returned to his hotel room where the other contestants were staying. He knew Harry was somewhere in the hotel, and that comfort felt like enough for him to feel safe. He layed in his bed and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He smiled, as though he already knew who had texted.

Curly:  
Goodnight, Louis. You did amazing today. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings :) H.

Louis:  
you as well, my curly king. see u in the morning Xx

Louis turned off his phone and rolled over onto his side. He smiled and shut his eyes, tomorrow he would see Harry again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a pretty short chapter, next it'll be day 2 and 3 of bootcamp!!!! and Louis and harry will be exploring their feelings soon enough, don't worry. pls leave a comment!!!!


	3. Bootcamp: Day 2

The second day of bootcamp felt like a dream to Louis. It seemed unreal that he was able to spend full days just hanging out with Harry and the other boys he liked, doing what he loved most. On day two, there was some drama with Zayn refusing to dance, but it was resolved eventually and everything continued to go smoothly. The tension between Harry and Louis seemed to grow stronger each minute, but Louis couldn’t tell if it was only friendship for Harry. They were quickly becoming best friends, but Louis was unsure if Harry wanted their relationship to grow into anything more. Louis definitely wanted more.

They finished their day up at around 8pm, Harry and Louis still being safe on the show. As they were walking out of the building towards their hotel, Harry grabbed Louis’ arm to stop him from walking. Shit. Flames. Louis had to figure out what that meant.

“It’s still not too late out, why don’t we go grab a bite before turning in for the night,” Harry said, keeping his hand on Louis’ arm. Was Harry asking him out on a date? No, there’s no way. Friends go out for food all the time. Louis needed to reign in his schoolboy crush and look at things more rationally. Harry was his friend, just asking him to go get some food. 

Harry was staring at Louis with a concerned look on his face. Oh right, Louis had to answer him still. Smooth, Lou.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I could go for some pizza, how’s that sound?” Louis’ voice was shaking a bit. He hasn’t yet been alone with Harry, they’ve always been surrounded by a hundred other X Factor contestants. 

“Perfect,” Harry said with a smile. He dropped Louis’ arm and instead laced their fingers together. Harry pulled Louis out of their building and into the busy streets of London. They walked until they found a small pizza shop, and grabbed a few slices. They sat across from each other at a table outside of the restaurant. For a few minutes, they sat in silence and watched the foot traffic on the street. Louis got the courage to look at Harry’s face and turned away from the pedestrians. His features were highlighted by the fairy lights strung above their table and gave him a soft, golden glow. He was grinning at a small child with her mother across the side of the road, and his dimples were prominent in the soft light. One of his curls had fallen out of place and was dancing against his cheek. Harry turned his head, and Louis was caught in his eyes. His deep, green eyes, that gave Louis such a sense of safety and comfort that Louis felt he could accomplish anything with those eyes in his life. In this light, Harry looked soft and gentle, someone that Louis would never want to hurt. He promised himself that no matter what happened, he would never cause Harry pain. He would always put Harry first.

By now, Harry was staring right back at Louis, neither saying anything. Harry was probably just wondering why Louis was being so creepy, but he did have a somewhat fond expression on his face as he smiled back at Louis.  
“Whatcha lookin at, Lou?” Harry asked, a smirk growing on his parted lips.

“Me?” Louis responded. “You’re the one shooting green lasers at me with your eyes. Where else was I supposed to look,” Louis said defensively, only half joking. He really didn’t know where else to look. 

“Do you like my eyes, Louis?” The smirk remained on Harry’s face, growing somehow even more mischievous. Why did Harry have to say his name with every sentence? It was like he knew how it made Louis feel. The way Harry had to curl is tongue and pucker his lips to say it, and the unnaturally slow way he pronounced it, was honestly just… hot. It was super hot. 

“Yes, Harold. I do like your eyes. They’re very… green. I like green.” Louis tried to say this as nonchalauntly as possible, in order to not give away his true intentions.

“I like your eyes too, Louis. I like blue. Love it.” There he goes, saying Louis’ name again.

“Why do you keep saying my name with every sentence? I know you’re talking to me, you don’t need to announce it each time,” Louis did not mean to come off so annoyed, but Harry was making his blood boil. Each time he said it, Louis found it harder and harder to resist the urge to reach across the table and just pull Harry in. He couldn’t do that, of course, so he’d appreciate it if Harry could chill with the name dropping.

Harry didn’t seem to notice the annoyance in Louis’ question, he just gave a troublesome smile in return. “Because, Louis,” this time he said it extra slow. “I like watching your cheeks turn red as I say it.” 

“I am most definitely not doing that.” He really wasn’t. Right? He was trying not to. Harry no longer looked innocent and sweet under the golden lights. He looked bold, dangerous, and Louis just wanted a piece of him. Harry can’t blame him for not being able to control it, when he’s the ones with the curls and tan of a greek god. 

“Sure you’re not, Louis. I’ll stop though. Can I ask you a question?” Harry’s face turned more serious.

“Yeah, of course you can, H.”

“What’s your soulmate word? I know you’re nineteen, so you must have one, but I haven’t seen it.” Fuck. Why did he ask that so casually? Of course Harry hadn’t seen it, Louis keeps a bandage wrapped around his upper arm so that no one can see it. It seems too personal of a thing to be broadcasted to the world.

“It’s cherry,” Louis responded. What. Cherry? No it’s not, his word is ‘hi’. He just lied to Harry without even realizing it.  
“Oh,” Harry said, looking a little disappointed. Or did he look relieved? Louis couldn’t tell. Either way, he basically just told Harry there’s no way they could ever be together. Maybe that was for the best, if Harry knew he had said Louis’ word, maybe he would date Louis just for that reason. Then, in two years when Harry got his word, he and Louis would realize they were never soulmates and Louis was basically tricking Harry the whole time. Now, he can avoid that.

“Yeah,” Louis said, feeling more confident about his lie. “Haven’t had anyone say it just yet, but that’s okay. I don’t think it’s that important anyway.”

“You don’t?” Harry seemed to light up a bit.

“No. I think I’m perfectly capable of falling in love with someone without a word on my arm telling me to. I also believe that you can have more than one soul mate, there isn’t just one person for everyone. I want my life to be full of love, not just because ‘the universe’ told me to love.” That was true, not a lie like ‘cherry’. Lou always saw the soul mate words as a way to sell marriage or stocks or something. He hadn’t thought too deep into it, but he knew that if he loved someone, he wouldn’t want to let a word get in the way of that. Unless of course, that person had found their soulmate. Then he wouldn’t want to get in between that.

“I like that way of thinking, Louis. I have two more years before I even have an idea who my soulmate is.” This time, the Louis was extra pronounced. He was back to trying to get a rise out of Lou.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” 

The boys finished up their pizzas and talked some more about less serious things, such as their home towns and favorite movies, (which led to Harry forcing Louis to sing Summer Nights to him). They finally left the pizza shop at around 11 pm, after talking for what felt like ten minutes, but was actually three hours. They walked back to their hotel, and Harry walked Louis to the door of his room. 

“My room is only one floor up, I’ll say goodnight to you now.” Harry said, looking down at Louis who was standing against the door to his room.

Louis stood still, looking up into Harry’s green eyes and smiling lips. He was standing close, Louis could reach out and grab his chest if he really wanted to. So he did.

He didn’t realize he was doing it until it happened, his hand resting softly against Harry’s chest, his thumb sliding against the fabric of his t-shirt. It was like a magnetic reaction to reach for Harry, and the sparks he was greeted with when he did were familiar and exciting.

“What are you doing, Louis?” Harry asked, never looking away from Louis’ eyes. Fuck. Should he pull his hand away? Was he totally ruining their night of platonic friendship? He told his hand to leave Harry’s chest, but it didn’t listen. It felt so right to be touching him, he couldn’t bring himself to end it. He waited for Harry to pull himself away, but it didn’t happen.

Instead, Harry brought his hand up to Louis’ cheek, and just hovered it there. Harry broke their eye contact to look at Louis’ lips. Louis could see the longing in Harry’s eyes, he knew for sure that Harry wanted him just like Louis wanted Harry.

“Harry-” Louis started to say something and Harry’s eyes snapped back to Louis’ eyes. Harry’s grip on Louis’ face became firm, and Louis was now staring at Harry’s parted lips, that looked like they were begging to be kissed. And then it happened.

Harry bent down and brought their lips together, still holding Louis’ head still with his hand. Louis’ lips parted to accept Harry in, and it felt right. Louis felt fireworks with this kissed. They pulled apart after a few seconds, and Harry stared at Louis. He couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking, but he saw a hunger on Harry’s face. Harry looked down the hallway to make sure they were alone, and then back at Louis. He gave that same mischievous smile from the restaurant, and pressed Louis firmly against the hotel door with a kiss much hungrier than the first. Harry’s mouth was now open, his tongue moving against the roof of Louis’ mouth. Louis brought his hands up and tangled them in Harry’s hair, keeping a strong grip. Harry had one hand on Louis’ face and the other on his chest, keeping him pressed up against the door. The kiss was getting faster, needier, and Louis wanted nothing more than to bring Harry into his hotel room. He gave a small tug on Harry’s curls which rewarded him with a light groan from Harry’s throat. Louis’ breath hitched and he let out a quiet, “fuck” into Harry’s mouth. He was the reason that Harry made that sound, and he wanted to do a million more things to Harry now. He wanted to make Harry scream, wanted to be the reason for every moan and groan coming from his mouth. 

Harry pulled away from the kiss, breathing deeply and staring at Louis’ eyes. Louis knew he looked desperate right now, but he didn’t care. He wanted more, and he wasn’t going to apologize for it. Harry removed his grip on Louis and took a step back. Louis looked up and down Harry’s body, and saw a bit of a bulge in Harry’s jeans. Fuck, he did that. He looked back up at Harry, his chest breathing deeply. Harry was smiling. “Goodnight Louis, I’ll see you in the morning,” Harry said, and walked to the stairs to go to his floor. 

He left Louis standing there, in the hallway, unsure of what had just happened. He just kissed Harry, and he very much enjoyed it. That was easily the most passionate kiss of his life, and he wanted to do it a million more times. He went into his room and laid in his bed, playing the kiss on repeat in his mind like a movie. Even if he only had two years until Harry discovered who his soul mate was, Louis would make the most out of every moment with Harry. Louis also decided that Harry most definitely was his soul mate. That’s the only explanation that makes sense for the fire on his skin when Harry touches him. Harry was his soulmate, even if Louis was not Harry’s. Louis was okay with that. He’d take what he could get from Harry.

*****

Harry returned to his hotel room and leaned against his door once he was inside. His heart was racing, his thoughts going even faster. He just kissed Louis. And not a sweet, little innocent kiss either, that was a KISS. They were hungry and determined to taste as much of each other as they could. Louis gave him rough tugs on his hair, Harry held him up against the wall.

Fuck.

Harry had never kissed a boy before. He wasn’t a virgin, he’s been with a couple girls back home, but never a boy. Now, he’s not sure why he ever bothered with girls. The roughness of Louis’ lips and his firm chest under Harry’s hand felt better than anything he’d ever felt on a girl. 

The image of Louis as he walked away from him would remain in his mind forever, it seemed like. Louis stood there, his lips parted, clearly wanting more. His eyes were glossy, as if he were high or lost in a haze of something. He stood there against the wall and Harry could see the outline of Louis’ semi in his pants. That intrigued Harry too, he wanted to experience every part of Louis there was. He wanted to feel Louis inside of him, however it would happen. 

All he knew was that he wanted more. Needed more. Touching Louis felt like magic, and he felt like he was missing something when they weren’t touching. But then he remembered what Louis had said at the restaurant, that his word was ‘cherry’. Harry definitely didn’t say that to him. But, Louis kissed Harry anyway, knowing they weren’t soulmates, so maybe Harry had a chance. Harry could keep Louis in his life until the moment Louis met his real soulmate. To Harry, he knew Louis was his. He didn’t have his word yet, but nothing else could explain the way he felt when Louis touched him. He wanted to be with Louis for the rest of his life, and if he couldn’t have that, he’d take the next few years. Louis was his soulmate, even if Harry wasn’t Louis’. And that’s okay, Harry would take whatever Louis could give him and be happy with it. Harry took a quick shower before climbing into bed, and dreamt about pushing Louis up against that wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment!!!!!


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